Biden pushes for action on infrastructure and gun control

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One of the few positive trends amid this pandemic year was a marked decrease in mass shootings, which had become an all-too-common occurrence in the U.S. in recent years. But as the pandemic fog lifts, mass shootings have resumed, with two major killings in the last week in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boulder, Colorado—a grim reminder that gun violence too plagues America. And, despite gun safety measures that enjoy bipartisan agreement, gun violence has not been meaningfully addressed. Bipartisan House legislation intended to reduce gun violence through enhanced background checks is a good start. If Republicans in the Senate would only approach gun violence prevention with the same vigor as they've championed "voter fraud" prevention, they might actually save some lives. —Mindy Finn

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** Is it finally Infrastructure Week?
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Perhaps soon. President Biden, fresh off the passage of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, has turned his sights toward other national priorities, with the intention of fulfilling a campaign promise to "build back better." While the American Rescue Plan tackled the most immediate crises—a pandemic still spreading and an economy still in crisis—the next proposal addresses the nation's faltering infrastructure. White House aides are compiling a $3 trillion plan that also would include tax changes and funding for a wide range of social programs. ([link removed])
* — More than roads and bridges. The infrastructure bill is designed to be a major investment in manufacturing and technology, including 5G, a green electric grid, universal broadband Internet access, semiconductor production, and carbon-free transportation. ([link removed])
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* — Let's work together. The White House is inviting Republicans in on the ground floor to help craft the legislation. There have already been bipartisan meetings at the White House and in the Senate. In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has instructed Democratic committee chairs to work with their Republican counterparts on the legislation. ([link removed])
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* — So you're telling me there's a chance. One thing both parties agree on is that the U.S. is on the cusp of losing its technological and economic superiority to China, so beating Beijing is at the heart of Biden's sales pitch. "If we don't get moving, they are going to eat our lunch," he said at a bipartisan meeting of senators last month, a day after he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping. —NPR ([link removed])

MORE: U.S. and allies announce sanctions against Chinese officials for 'serious human rights abuses' against Uyghurs—CNN ([link removed])


** 'This is a tragedy and a nightmare for Boulder County'
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A shooting at a Boulder, Col., supermarket killed 10 people yesterday, including a police officer who was the first to respond to the scene. Police have arrested and charged 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, who former classmates recall as "violent, short-tempered, and paranoid." The attack was the seventh mass killing this year in the U.S., following the March 16 shooting that left eight people dead in Atlanta, Ga. It follows a lull in mass killings during the pandemic in 2020, which had the smallest number of such attacks in more than a decade. —Associated Press ([link removed])

MORE: Biden pushes House-passed gun reforms in the wake of Colorado mass shooting —CNN ([link removed])


** Gans: SCOTUS must uphold the 4th Amendment
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"The Founding generation considered the home to be a 'place of perfect security.' The question now is whether the Supreme Court will respect the text and history of the Fourth Amendment, or invent a new exception that would open the floodgates to police entry of the home. The justices should make clear that police need a warrant and probable cause of criminal wrongdoing or emergency circumstances before they enter a person's home." —David Gans in ([link removed]) USA Today ([link removed])

David Gans is the civil rights director at the Constitutional Accountability Center.

MORE: Caniglia v. Strom: There's no place like home? —SCOTUSblog ([link removed])


** Facebook's role in the insurrection
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A new report released today accuses social media giant Facebook of "creating the conditions that swept America down the dark path from election to insurrection." Online advocacy group Avaaz found that if Facebook had not waited until October to tweak its algorithms to stem false content related to the 2020 U.S. election, the company could have prevented an estimated 10.1 billion views on the 100 most prominent pages that repeatedly shared misinformation ahead of the election. "The scary thing is that this is just for the top 100 pages—this is not the whole universe of misinformation," says Fadi Quran, a campaign director at Avaaz. —TIME ([link removed])

MORE: Big Tech showdown looms as Biden taps top critics Lina Khan, Tim Wu —NPR ([link removed])
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** Campbell: RCV, corruption-fighter
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"[Ranked-choice voting] reduces opportunities for corruption by making the election process more transparent, and reduces the means by which corruption occurs by leveling the playing field among a broader and more diverse slate of candidates. It changes the game by which officials are re-elected and leads to better behavior after the election." —Bill Campbell on ([link removed]) IVN Network ([link removed])

Bill Campbell, a U.S. Marine veteran, represents the San Diego, Ca., chapter of RepresentUs, a national organization fighting corruption in government.

MORE: La Crosse Tribune Ed. Board: 'Final Five voting' merits support in Wisconsin —La Crosse Tribune ([link removed])


** Focus on voting
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The kraken is dead. Pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell has asked a federal court to dismiss a $1.3 billion defamation suit filed against her by Dominion Voting Systems, arguing that her claims of rigged voting machines merely represented her "opinion." Powell's legal team argues that "reasonable people would not accept such statements as fact but view them only as claims that await testing by the courts through the adversary process." Lovely. Meanwhile, state legislatures across the country are advancing measures to restrict voting, based at least in part on the "opinions" of Powell and others. —The Wall Street Journal ([link removed])
* — Georgia. Republican lawmakers in Georgia are backing away from two of the more contentious efforts to limit voting access as they advance sweeping changes to state election laws. New versions of the legislation no longer contain provisions that would limit Sunday voting. Also gone is language that would end no-excuse absentee voting, which has been available to voters since 2005. —The Atlanta Voice ([link removed])
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* — Indiana. The Indiana House Elections and Apportionment Committee was scheduled to meet today to discuss an election bill that would require voters to add ID information on absentee ballot applications and prohibit shifting election dates, but the hearing was postponed due to scheduling conflicts. Democratic officials say the bill is voter suppression, while area Republican officials say the bill limits the potential for fraud. —Chicago Tribune ([link removed])
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* — Texas. Republicans in Texas have introduced legislation that would require voters with disabilities to prove they can't make it to the polls in order to get a mail-in ballot, prevent officials from keeping polling places open late for shift workers, allow partisan poll-watchers to record voters who receive help filling out ballots, outlaw drive-thru voting, and forbid officials from promoting vote-by-mail. The Senate bill was set to receive its first committee airing yesterday, but Democrats called for more public notice before the legislation is heard. —The Texas Tribune ([link removed])

MORE: Millions of Americans don't believe Biden was elected fairly. Here's how that's affecting voting laws —Deseret News ([link removed])


** Vindman & Kasparov: Navalny isn't perfect, but that's not the point
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"[Russian opposition leader Alexei] Navalny has received the lion's share of media attention, but his corrupt trial and imprisonment are among thousands currently taking place... If we in the circle of democratic nations fail, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, his oligarchs, his enablers, and the mafia-state structure built around them will know that they can snuff out the stirrings of democracy with beatings, arrests, and murders—and we will be complicit. The moment demands action, not debate." —Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman & Garry Kasparov in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (Ret.) served on the National Security Council as the director for Eastern European, Caucasus, and Russian affairs and is a Pritzker Military Fellow at the Lawfare Institute. Garry Kasparov is chair of the Human Rights Foundation and the Renew Democracy Initiative.

MORE: China, Russia officials meet in show of unity against EU, U.S. —Associated Press ([link removed])

How to respond to people who justify their opposition to mask-wearing by saying:

"But Rand Paul must know what he's talking about...after all, he is a doctor!"

"Yes, but so was Josef Mengele." —Jim V., New York

If we need a liberal party, how about a conservative party to deal with the far-right fringes? —John C., Florida
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** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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